1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a method of folding items of laundry wherein the items of laundry, in a folding apparatus, are folded transversely at least once in relation to the direction of passage through the folding apparatus and, in the process, are at least more or less halved lengthwise, as seen in the through-passage direction, as a result of overlapping layers of the item of laundry being formed, and to an apparatus for folding items of laundry having at least one transverse-folding station and having belt conveyors, by means of which the item of laundry which is to be folded in each case is transported in the through-passage direction through at least one transverse-folding gap, which belongs to the at least one transverse-folding station and in which the respective item of laundry receives a transverse fold, which runs transversely to the through-passage direction and which produces overlapping layers of the item of laundry.
2. Prior Art
Items of laundry, to be precise, in particular, flat textile products (tablecloths, towels, duvet covers, pillowcases, sheets and the like), but also items of clothing such as bathrobes, are folded automatically, using folding machines, in laundries. The items of laundry here are folded transversely at least once and, in the process, shortened in length by a number of layers of the item of laundry being positioned one above the other in an overlapping manner. “Length” of the items of laundry is intended to mean the direction of extent of the same in the transporting direction through the folding machine. This need not just be the largest dimension, referred to generally as length; in the case of items of laundry transported transversely through the folding machine, it may also be a shorter, transverse dimension (referred to usually as width). “Transverse-folding operation” is to be understood as being a folding operation which produces a folding line which extends through the items of laundry and extends transversely to the direction in which the items of laundry are transported through the folding machine, and thus also transversely to the length.
Optimum folding results are achieved if, in the case of the respective transverse-folding operation, the layers positioned one above the other are of equal length and thus the transverse edges, running transversely to the through-passage direction through the folding machine, or transversely directed ends of the layers are located precisely one above the other. In practice, this is not achieved for various reasons, to be precise, in particular, the material properties of the items of laundry, but also influences stemming from the folding machine; there is therefore usually a so-called overlap. The folding machines which have been known up until now tolerate the difference in overlap to a certain extent. The folding quality suffers as a result because transverse edges or transverse ends of the laundry-item layers positioned one above the other are not located quite precisely one above the other. It is only when the difference in overlap becomes large enough to impair the folding quality in a manner which is no longer tolerable that the attempt is made to reduce the difference in overlap by altering mechanical settings of the folding machine. This requires often relatively long stoppages of the folding machine and some skill and experience on the part of the engineer. It is frequently also the case, for reasons relating to cost, that alterations to the folding-machine setting are not made and poor folding results are accepted.